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As you know I currently practice Dentokan Aiki-Jujutsu but intend cross-training, or making the transition completely to Aikido in the future. As an AJJ practitioner I am familiar with some of the root techniques that Aikido and AJJ share in common such as those shown below.

Dentokan & Hakko-Ryu//Aikido

Shodan//Ikkyo
Nidan//Nikkyo
Sandan//Sankyo
Yondan//Yonkyo

I understand that the Aikido techniques do differ from those in AJJ but they are essentially variations of the same techniques. I know I will need to adjust to the differences but I do not foresee this being a major problem and believe I can adapt fairly well. However there are other Aikido techniques that I am not familiar with or have not had personal experience of in training such as stances, hand/foot positions, bokken and jo exercises, randori etc.

As an aid to my eventual practice of Aikido I was wondering if people could recommend some good Aikido dvds that cover the basics. There are a wide range of Aikido dvds on budovideos.com, which I have bought from before but I really don't know which ones are worthy of my money or not and so would appreciate a little help. (suggestions don't necessarily have to come from the range found on budovideos.com). From what my instructors have told me Aikido uses larger spheres of motion than AJJ (we're always taught to keep our movements small) so some explanation on the dynamics of Aikido's circular movements would also be much appreciated.

As an aid to my eventual practice of Aikido I was wondering if people could recommend some good Aikido dvds that cover the basics. There are a wide range of Aikido dvds on budovideos.com, which I have bought from before but I really don't know which ones are worthy of my money or not and so would appreciate a little help. (suggestions don't necessarily have to come from the range found on budovideos.com). From what my instructors have told me Aikido uses larger spheres of motion than AJJ (we're always taught to keep our movements small) so some explanation on the dynamics of Aikido's circular movements would also be much appreciated.

Hi Ewen,

As you might have gathered from participating in AikiWeb, "Aikido" covers a vast range of styles and philosophies. The size and form of the movements used in aikido also varies hugely between schools, and the movements are not necessarily or consistently large. I think that if you watched a DVD of a senior Shodokan teacher, followed by one of the current Aikikai Doshu, you could end up pretty confused!

Have you located an aikido dojo nearby that you like? Is there an aikido teacher that you could see yourself following in the foreseeable future? If so, you would get much more benefit from DVDs from traditions that are compatible with their style.

Dear Ewen,
Check out Biran online Web page.You will find a number of dvds by Chiba Sensei and visiting instructors.
I also sell dvds .Contact British Birankai Webpage.
Again the Dvds are by Chiba Sensei , Miyamoto Sensei, Etsuji Horii Sensei,to name but a few.
I also have samples of Batto Ho, Weapons etc. Cheers, Joe.

As an aid to my eventual practice of Aikido I was wondering if people could recommend some good Aikido dvds that cover the basics. There are a wide range of Aikido dvds on budovideos.com, which I have bought from before but I really don't know which ones are worthy of my money or not and so would appreciate a little help. (suggestions don't necessarily have to come from the range found on budovideos.com). From what my instructors have told me Aikido uses larger spheres of motion than AJJ (we're always taught to keep our movements small) so some explanation on the dynamics of Aikido's circular movements would also be much appreciated.

Roy Suenaka recently started selling his DVDs through Amazon, and I can't recommend the 15 basic and the Aiki Taiso DVDs enough. They're out of stock now, but I'm sure they will be available again soon.

Thanks for all the recommendations and advice. Sorry I've been quiet but I've been swamped with work this week. The tricky thing is as I'm moving to Japan later this year to marry my fiancee and we're still not 100% where we'll be living (it will be somewhere in the Kansai area), I don't know yet what style of Aikido I will end up learning. As I'm making some pretty major changes in my life, joining an Aikido dojo is on my list of things to do but it's not No.1, which is why I thought some dvds might help me to keep the interest kindling until I'm in a position to find a club. In that respect I don't think it really matters which style, although I am drawn more towards Yoshinkan. But saying that I love the smoothness of some of the Aikikai videos I've seen on youtube.

I decided to buy Aikido Renshinkai 1st & 2nd step dvds with Tsutoma Chida from budovideos.com. They were under the Yoshinkan category of Aikido dvds and look like they cover plenty of techniques to help me understand the waza and movement of Yoshinkan Aikido.

I am just about to buy some from Aikido Eastside that appear to have some very solid stuff from George Ledyard Sensei and William Gleason Sensei. From the video samples of both these great teachers that I've seen on youtube, I'd highly recommend them.

I'm a big fan of the late Rev. Kensho Furuya, Sensei's video series "The Art of Aikido". Very traditional, very straight forward and very practical. Furuya Sensei was also one of the country's foremost authorities on traditional Japanese swords and swordsmanship. A true scholar and warrior. He will be missed greatly.

Most of what Nishio sensei have done is available on youtube. I find it immensely inspiring to watch. It is probably far away from what you do today, but maybe it will give you a new perspective on how Aikido can be in one interpretation.

Check it out on youtube. If you enjoy it - go pick up his DVD's.

Nishio sensei was against making DVD's BTW. In his point of view aikido is never 'like this' but always developing. Somebody talked him into it however, and today we are a number of people who are quite happy about that.

Most of what Nishio sensei have done is available on youtube. I find it immensely inspiring to watch. It is probably far away from what you do today, but maybe it will give you a new perspective on how Aikido can be in one interpretation.

Check it out on youtube. If you enjoy it - go pick up his DVD's.

Nishio sensei was against making DVD's BTW. In his point of view aikido is never 'like this' but always developing. Somebody talked him into it however, and today we are a number of people who are quite happy about that.

Enjoy

JJ

Thanks JJ for the suggestion, I've actually already bought the evideos from aikidojournal and downloaded them onto my laptop. I think Nishio Sensei is the single most inspirational Aikido instructor that I am familiar with from my exploration of the Aikido community online. It's not only his emphasis on maintaining the martial integrity of the art that really inspires me, it's his reflexes and movement that amazes me. His reactions are very fast and it is clear he has been developing his training for some time to perfect the martial quality and the art of Aikido simultaneously. Even if when I eventually cross from AJJ to Aikido my training does not exactly reflect his style, his dvds and example will serve as a source for me to one day with enough skill and experience, develop my own expression. The martial effectiveness of Aikido is something that is very important to me.

I decided to buy Aikido Renshinkai 1st & 2nd step dvds with Tsutoma Chida from budovideos.com. They were under the Yoshinkan category of Aikido dvds and look like they cover plenty of techniques to help me understand the waza and movement of Yoshinkan Aikido.

Very pleased with my purchases. Chida Sensei explains the techniques in detail; especially in the step 2 dvd, with comparisons of good and bad execution of the techniques in split screen view, which is very helpful. The uke's he uses are very good and the techniques he demonstrates are done in a very controlled and slow manner to emphasise each movement. Foot movement and hand movement are also explained separately so great attention has been taken in every detail of the waza.

Very interestingly, the waza seems to bear the most similarity of all the Aikido styles I'm familiar with, with Daito-Ryu. There seems to be more emphasis on atemi and smaller circular motion. Shihonage and Kote Gaeshi for example bore much similarity with how I have practised them in the Dentokan.

Even if when I eventually cross from AJJ to Aikido my training does not exactly reflect his style, his dvds and example will serve as a source for me to one day with enough skill and experience, develop my own expression. The martial effectiveness of Aikido is something that is very important to me.

Well... in that case I think you have grasped the essential part of what he tried to teach. To keep in mind that we are doing Budo - not dancing, and to develop what is your aikido based on what ever knowledge you can assimilate.